168 THE LONELY NIETZSCHE
As soon as I reached Naumburg, I received a letter containing the following passage :
" It was a good thing that we were together in Eome ; and although I belong to the silent order of men, you must have heard and guessed enough to know how matters stand with me. That which a man calls his goal (and of which he really thinks night and day) clothes his whole nature in a veritable ass's skin, so that he can be almost struck dead—he gets over it and goes on his course, like the old ass, with his old * Ye-a-a !' That's how it is with me at present.
" I have hired a room here for three months. I should indeed be a fool if I allowed the Italian air to rob me of my courage. Now and then the thought crops up: what is to happen next ? I am entirely in the dark about my ' future '; but as I have still a good deal to finish, I ought to think of this finishing work as my future, and leave the rest to you and the gods." (This refers to the above-mentioned plans for an archive.)
I felt that my brother was preparing me for a new MS., and he did actually write a few days later :
" Now, dear sister, I have an urgent request to make ! You are to explain to Schmeitzner (orally or in writing, as you think best) that he must have the second part of Zarathmtra printed immediately) as soon as he receives the MS. I want no more such heart-burnings as I have had before—I have often thought they might cause me sudden death. I leave it to him to decide when he will publish this second part (it is exactly as long as the first part); but I must get the printing over—this is a matter of prime importance for my health. Last spring the wretched dilatoriness of the printers made me ill for four weeks longer than I ought to have been. In return I will promise Schmeitzner that he will have nothing of mine to print next year. My present intention is to work up material for lectures, taking the' text' for my lectures from Zarathustra itself.
" From all this you will guess that the second text in question really does exist. You cannot easily form an exaggerated idea of the violence of such creations. Here, however, lies their danger. For Heaven's sake manage to arrange this with